Recess: School's Out

Director:

Chuck Sheetz

Writer:

Jonathan Greenberg

Walt Disney; G; 84 minutes

Release:

2/01

Voices of:

Ricky D'Shon, James Wood, Melissa Joan Hart

Recess is meant to be free time for kids, a happy place where the adult world has minimal say. Recess: School's Out reflects this. The full-length animation is based on Disney's Saturday morning filler. The TV cartoon follows fourth graders pitched between forces of good (recess) and evil (class time). In the movie, summer scatters a crudely rendered cast of “pre-young adults” to various summer camps. Kids who follow the cartoon will be familiar with the motley crew. T.J. (Andy Lawrence) remains in town. Here he witnesses strange happenings at the 3rd St. School—the kind of activity one would expect at Area 51. In efforts to raise standardized test scores, a cruel teacher is attempting to alter the earth's orbit so that there will be no summer. And you thought vouchers were radical…

Recess lacks the intergenerational charm one expects from members of the Rugrats team. Although G-rated, it employs annoyingly rude phrases parents will not want their children repeating. The fact that the project targets children allows it to cut corners in animation and dialogue without impacting popularity. Indeed, Recess believes that drastically different strategies are required to please 9 year olds and their parents, and goes after the 9 year-olds. This reasoning makes it a likely rental candidate, so adults can busy themselves with other activities while their kids get their 84–minute cartoon.